Deadlier Than the Male and Some Girls Do Double Feature at LA's New Beverly Cinema Next Week

Attention Los Angeles spy fans! Heck, attention West Coast spy fans in general, because this one's worth a drive! The New Beverly Cinema in L.A. will screen the two Sixties Bulldog Drummond spy movies, Deadlier Than the Male and Some Girls Do, next week, in honor of their late star Richard Johnson, who passed away last month. This unmissable double feature will play on Sunday, July 19, and Monday, July 20. Deadlier Than the Male (1967), as most readers are probably aware, is the best James Bond knock-off ever. To learn why, read my in-depth review here. Besides Johnson (Danger Route), the main attraction is the deadly duo of Elke Sommer (The Venetian Affair) and Sylva Koscina (Hot Enough For June) as a pair of bickering, speargun-toting assassins who steal the show. Nigel Green (The Ipcress File), Steve Carlson (The Wild Wild West), Laurence Naismith (The Persuaders!) and Leonard Rossiter (Otley) round out the stellar cast. While Some Girls Do (1969) doesn't live up to its predecessor, the more comedic sequel is still highly entertaining Sixties spyjinks. In that one, Johnson is joined by Daliah Lavi (Casino Royale), James Villiers (For Your Eyes Only), Yutte Stensgaard (Lust For a Vampire) and Robert Morley (Hot Enough For June).

Both movies will be shown in 35mm, Deadlier Than the Male in an IB Technicolor print! Both evenings, Deadlier Than the Male plays at 7:30 followed by Some Girls Do at 9:30 There's also a 5:40 screening of Some Girls Do on Sunday. Tickets are $8 for the double feature and are available for pre-order on Brown Paper Tickets or at the theater box office.

It is extremely rare to see either of these movies on the big screen (each has played only once in the fifteen years I've lived in Los Angeles, and there are many repertory cinemas here), and even if you're a Bond fan but have never seen a Eurospy movie before, I encourage you to go. Deadlier Than the Male is the perfect gateway Eurospy title! Seriously, this is sure to be the spy event of the season! Personally, if I can I'm planning to go both nights.

Other Johnson tribute movies playing this month include The Haunting, Zombie and Beyond the Door. Check the New Beverly calendar for details.